Plaid Deputy President Jill Evans MEP joined Party Leader Ieuan Wyn Jones and Leanne Wood AM, when Plaid Cymru launched a discussion paper on how Wales could get out of a recession, and to launch a new document Recover, Reform, Renew: The Road from Recession.

Plaid’s leader Ieuan Wyn Jones said that his party wants to build on the important steps taken in Government in Wales to help families and businesses and to stimulate further discussion on what needs to be done at all levels of Government to aid economic recovery.

The Plaid leader also hit out at Prime Minister Gordon Brown for his planned £500 million cuts to the Welsh budget. Mr Jones said that Mr Brown’s plans show a ‘worrying disregard’ for the Welsh economy and that now is not the time to be starving Wales of the money needed to aid the renewal.

Photo L- R: Leanne Wood AM, Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones AM, Jill Evans MEP

Plaid leader Ieuan Wyn Jones AM said:

“In government, the efforts of Plaid ministers are ongoing to ensure that the Welsh economy gets the right sort of help during this downturn. We are also looking to the future and at how we can ensure that Wales’ economic position is far more robust and sustainable in the long term.”

“The immediate priority must be to set the right conditions for economic recovery – in Wales that must be through effectively targeting support for businesses, through maintaining the skills base of our workforce and through providing the help we can to those facing redundancy.

“What Wales needs from Westminster is a stimulus package to allow us to bring about that recovery as quickly as possible. This document outlines a proposal for a UK wide package similar to that planned in other European countries like Austria and Germany. Under the package Wales would receive a £3 billion share from Westminster. The funding could be targeted at saving jobs and businesses, providing further help for low income families and cash to protect public services.”

“Gordon Brown plans cuts which could amount to half a billion pounds from Wales’ budget in 2010.”

Jill Evans MEP added:

“The European level is very important. It has been significant that Economic Development Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones has been over to Brussels to negotiate with European Commission to have a relaxation of the rules to ensure we can spend every penny available. We are facing a triple crunch: an economic, social and an environmental crisis. With the right policies we can get a triple benefit of creating jobs, fighting climate change and becoming more energy independent.”

Leanne Wood AM commented:

“The Welsh Government is doing what it can under the circumstances of an unbalanced UK economy that is heavily dependent on the financial sector. We need a more balanced economy instead of putting all of our eggs in one basket. We need a strategy which spreads jobs across different sectors and across the country. An integral part of any plan has to take into account the climate crisis. Plaid Cymru wants to see more emphasis on developing green jobs and technologies. Gordon Brown plans to cut £500 million when there is a growing consensus on the need to spend in a recession, not a contraction in public spending.”

Diwedd/End.